


Wrapped Up

by angelboygabriel



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Aunt May is a great mom, Brief Pining, Coming Out, Crushes, Everyone is Bisexual, First Kisses, Fluff, M/M, revised scenes from other Spider-Man movies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-16 17:59:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14816118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelboygabriel/pseuds/angelboygabriel
Summary: Ned’s got a problem.The first one being the fact he thinks he’s got a crush on the spider guy that’s been swinging around the city, and the second one being that at the same time, he might be a little in love with his best friend.





	Wrapped Up

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place during a very vague time that’s post Civil War and pre to beginning of Hoco.
> 
> Thanks to my wonderful twitter followers for help with writing about Ned’s family! I may do more in the future talking about Ned’s background as Filipino.
> 
> Inspired by the song “Wrapped Up” by Olly Murs.

  
_You kinda turned my world upside down_  
 _And I don't really mind Spiderman kissing you_  
 _As long as you're planning on sticking around_

 

* * *

 

“...am I annoying you?” Ned trailed off when he noticed Peter was focusing a little too hard on their physics homework, blush coloring his face. He looked up with wide eyes, stuttering for an explanation.

“I- no? No! You can... keep talking. I swear it’s fine.” he said and Ned squinted at him.

“Do _you_ have a crush on Spider-Man too?” he asked after a beat, and if it was possible, Peter’s blush deepened.

Peter sat on his bed and stared at Ned, hunched up on himself and smacking a pencil against his thigh, wearing one of Ned’s hoodies.

“How do you even know you like him if you’ve never met him or seen his face?” Peter questioned and Ned shrugged.

_Because he reminds me of you,_ he thought, but Ned just crossed out an answer on his homework.

“I dunno Peter, why do you like Liz even though she doesn’t even know you exist?” he shot back, and Peter scowled.

“You’re just mean to me.” Peter grumbled before he smacked his hands on top of Ned’s knees and leaned into his space. “Can we just go to your place? I’m hungry and May says I can’t have any pizza until I finish this packet and I’m really not about to do that.”

Ned rolled his eyes but nodded.

“Sure, Peter.” he said, and they shoved their things into their backpacks. They snuck out into the kitchen and watched the back of May’s head as they crept to the door, Peter’s aunt pretty transfixed on some episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

They opened and closed door as quietly as they could, and started running towards the elevator when they heard May yell something at them.

“Run!” Peter laughed as they ran down the hall and slammed the ground floor button for the elevator, sinking against the walls of the lift with grins at each other as they went down the 12 floors and finally walked out of the lobby and onto the busy New York sidewalk.

Ned lived only a few blocks away from Peter, so the walk was brief as they came onto the Leeds family door stoop and Ned opened the door to usher Peter in. Ned’s mom was home, and she broke into a smile upon seeing her son and his best friend. Ned grinned and set the back of her hand against his forehead out of habit, and Peter gave her a quick squeeze.

“Hi, Mrs. Leeds!” he said excitedly as they tossed their bags down. “Do you have anything to eat?” he asked, and she nodded as she turned with a swish of her long sundress into the kitchen. Peter and Ned flopped onto the couch.

“Always something for my hungry boys!” she said cheerfully from the kitchen. “But you have to get it yourselves. _Boboy_! Come bring Peter.” she called, and Ned scowled at the nickname.

“Okaaaaay, Mom.” he yelled back.

 

* * *

 

“Hey sweetheart, how was school?” May called out the next day when Peter got home. The lack of studying from the night before had been forgiven.

Peter didn’t answer, head hung low as he stomped into his room. May frowned.

She gave him a few minutes to himself before she slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Peter was sitting on his bed, head on his knees while he cried.

“Oh, baby.” she said sadly and swept into the room to sit down next to her nephew. She wrapped her arms around Peter and he sagged into her, pressing his face against her shirt. “What’s wrong?” she asked gently, and Peter wiped his eyes with a sniff.

“I shouldn’t even be crying about it!” he half-yelled. “It was so stupid. Some stupid guy just called me some stupid name and I let it get to me.” he finished miserably, and May ran a hand through his hair.

“Can I ask what he said?” May questioned, and Peter sat up, looking like he was having some type of internal war with himself.

“I... I don’t even want to say it. He found- he found out... I don’t even know how he figured it out or who told him! I wasn’t even obvious about it! God, I’m fucking crying over this.” he sobbed, and put his head back into his hands.

May was a little worried now. This sounded pretty serious.

“Do I need to call the school?” she asked sternly, and Peter hiccuped a laugh and put his hands up.

“No, no, please don’t.” he begged. May smiled fondly and rubbed his back. He looked at her with red eyes before grabbing her hand.

“Can I tell you something?” he asked in a small voice, and May nodded.

“Of course. Anything, Pete.” she assured him, and he took a deep breath.

“I’mnotstraightimbisexual.” he said in a jumbled mess.

“Woah, Peter, slow down. You’re what?”

Peter pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I’m bisexual.” he said slower this time, and May didn’t say anything for a moment. Peter started to freak out a little, but May firmly grabbed his shoulders.

“Okay, and?” she prompted, and Peter’s brow furrowed.

“You’re not mad?” he asked, and May laughed.

“Peter, it’s not like I’m that surprised.” she said before smirking. “You’re good at hiding things from me, I’ll give you that, but there’s no way to hide the way you look at Ned.” she added, and Peter reddened.

“Oh my god. May.” he groaned, and she laughed.

“Cheer up, we can go out for _bi_ -ce cream to celebrate!” she said and Peter glared at her.

“We’ll go only if you never make that pun again.”

“Okay. I’m sorry, sweetie.”

“ _Thank_ you.”

“So, are you gonna ask out Liz or Ned first?”

“MAY!”

 

* * *

 

“He’d never go out with me.” Ned said miserably into his pizza. MJ gave him a disgusted glance from down the table as they ate their lunch and watched Peter stumble over talking to Liz Allen. Peter made eye contact with Ned and gave him a weird look, puffing up a little.

Liz laughed at something he said and patted his shoulder before walking away. Peter stared dopily after her.

“Probably because you’re not woman enough to even flirt with him.” MJ grumbled and went back to her book. (Medieval Torture Crash Course)

“I can flirt with him. You’re stupid and don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, I don’t even know if he likes guys.” Ned complained, and MJ raised an eyebrow.

“You’re his best friend, shouldn’t you know? Besides. He’s a little _too_ into Corey Haim movies and you know exactly how he gets about Brendon Urie if you know what I mean.” she reasoned. “And he cuffs his jeans so mystery solved.”

“That’s so stereotypical, Michelle.” Ned said crossly, and she gestured down at their pants.

“But it’s true, dumbass.” she shot back. Ned frowned at where his jeans were cuffed up to the ankle.

“Here’s you chance to prove you can flirt.” she said suddenly, and Ned looked up as Peter plunked his lunch tray down in front of the seat opposite him. He grinned at Ned.

“Liz told me I looked cute today and she even laughed at my joke!” Peter said excitedly, focusing a little hard on Ned, and Ned’s heart sank a little.

“Ouch.” MJ chimed in from the side and Ned flipped her off.

“Why did she say ‘ouch’?” Peter asked and Ned angrily peeled off one of the fake pepperonis from his slice of pizza.

“She probably stubbed her fucking toe.” he grumbled.

 

* * *

 

“Hi, Mr. Stark. I know you probably won’t pick up but I just wanted to check in.” Peter said with a sigh. He was sitting on top of some building in Hell’s Kitchen while he watched the sunset.

“I’ve got a kinda problem and I don’t know who to talk to. There’s this girl I like but there’s also this guy I like. I thought you could help me with this ‘cos you’re uh, you’re bi too. The girl’s name is Liz. She’s so beautiful and clever and responsible and I like her a lot but I think I like this guy better. The guy... his name is Ned, I know I’ve talked about him before. He’s really funny and smart and cute and chubby and nice and I wanna date him but I don’t know how to hint that I like him. May said making him jealous will help and I gave it a shot but now he just seems kinda upset at me. I don’t really know what to-“

_Your voicemail has finished recording_ an automated voice read. Peter’s face fell.

“Oh.” he said sadly. “Okay, bye.”

 

* * *

 

“Whatcha lookin’ at, Ned-head.” Flash Thompson taunted as he yanked his phone out of Ned’s hand.

“Hey, give it back!” Ned cried out, but Flash raised an eyebrow as he started to read off the screen.

“...The webbed crusader stopped a robbery in progress last night, and the NYPD would like to express their thanks. Spider-Man, whoever you are, keep up the good work! Sincerely, your friends at the Daily Bugle. Staff editorial.” he said, and gave Ned an ugly look.

“What, you got a crush on him or something?” he asked, and Ned snatched his phone back.

“No.” he snapped and shoved Flash as he walked by, desperately trying to get away before Flash could see the blush on his face. He ran right into Peter, who had just finished swapping homework with Gwen Stacey.

“Woah, hey Ned.” he said, grabbing him by the arms to steady him. Peter always surprised Ned by how strong he really was.

“Are you okay?” he asked, suddenly noting Ned’s expression. He nodded his head tersely and Peter frowned.

“I can tell when my best friend isn’t okay. C’mon, what’s up?” he tried again, but that just made Ned feel even more embarrassed. Peter still hadn’t let go of him and Ned shook off his grip.

“It’s nothing. It’s just stupid Spider-Man.” he grumbled and tried to walk away, but Peter grabbed him again, this time by the hand. Ned was starting to think maybe Peter was fucking with him.

“What about him?” he asked, a searching look on his face.

Ned looked down at their hands.

“You know what. Just go talk to Liz or something.” Ned spat before he stormed off.

He didn’t see Peter watch him go, taking a half step in his direction before looking down and walking away.

 

* * *

 

“He hates me.” Peter said depressingly into his Thai food. May gave him a pitying look as she poked at her shrimp curry.

“Pete, I’m sure he doesn’t _hate_ you-“

“No, he definitely does.” Peter cut her off. “I’ve been taking your advice, and it’s not working. I tried to make him feel kinda jealous. I tried breaking the touch barrier more. I tried to act extra open but he’s just angry at me. He’s even told me TO MY FACE he likes Sp- uh, he likes, he likes... spending the night.” Peter said and May planted her head in her hand.

“Give it some time?”

“We’ve known each other for five years, May.” he deadpanned, and she snorted.

“Well, if subtle isn’t working go big. You should try a romantic gesture! It always gets the message across guaranteed.” she assured him, and Peter thoughtfully took another bite of his food.

Maybe he should think of a date idea...

Peter got out his phone and sent a quick text to Ned. His message from 30 minutes earlier was still unread, which was a little odd, but Peter wasn’t too worried.

_hey where are you?? wanna meet me at lemongrass, im already here and I wanna talk to u_

He put his phone down and May nodded at it. “Texted him?” she asked and he made an affirmative sign with his hand. He was just about to tell her she could leave without him when a sudden sense of dread crept down his spine. He knew that feeling. Peter looked at his phone, then out the window at the darkened city.

Something was wrong with Ned.

“May, I have to go.” he said, picking up his backpack as he stood up. Her brow furrowed but she waved at him.

“Um, okay! If it’s off to see Ned tell him I said hi!” She said cheerfully and Peter just turned and started speed walking.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no_ he kept repeating in his head. He slipped into an alley and threw his things down, throwing his shirt and pants off and thanking God he had the insight to leave the apartment wearing his suit. His spidey senses hadn’t lead him wrong yet, but he was starting to really worry as he pulled his mask on and shot a web up to the roof of a building.

He swung up and started to get some momentum as he whizzed above the city streets in the direction he felt his heart lead him. He got to Chinatown and landed outside an alley, peering around a corner. He felt anger bubble up in his veins as he saw two guys shove Ned against a brick wall, demanding his money.

Ned looked terrified, and was digging through his backpack to try and appease them when Peter strolled into the alley and cleared his throat.

“Excuse me, sirs, but you wouldn’t happen to be looking for a night in jail, would you?” he asked smoothly, and the two thugs whipped around to face him. Ned looked over in shock, jaw dropping.

“Oh shit, it’s that stupid spider guy!” the first guy yelled, and Peter gave a bow.

“So, should we do this the hard way or the easy way?” he questioned casually, and the thieves cracked their knuckles.

“We’re not afraid of some idiot in Spandex.” they challenged, and Peter shrugged.

“Okaaaay.” he drawled as they started to rush him. Peter dodged the first punch easily and grabbed the guy’s arm, twisting it backwards as he pulled up then down, slamming him to the ground. The second guy landed a kick, but Peter punched him square in the face and swept his legs from out beneath him. He attached a web around his legs and then ran up the wall, pulling the guy up before he swung him over to the front of the building and attached him to the marquee before quickly jumping back to get the other guy.

Ned was hiding behind the dumpster as Peter flipped back onto the ground, exchanging blows with the first guy before he shot a web up and swung over his head, smacking the guy’s face against the wall to knock him out.

Peter picked the thug up and brought him over to join his friend, before hopping back up on the roof and jumping down onto the fire escape. He slowed his motions so he wouldn’t scare Ned, and attached a web to the fire escape railing so he could turn upside down and lowered himself down in front of him, who’d stood up and was gaping at him in awe.

“You’re the Spider-Man.” he said reverently, and Peter nodded. “And you... just saved my life.” he added, and Peter shrugged.

“Just your friendly neighborhood superhero. You okay?” he asked, and Ned nodded dumbly. Even though Ned couldn’t see his mouth it seemed like he was smiling.

“So this... is the part where you kiss the hero. If you want to. If you don’t that’s cool, I don’t really care or whatever. But I won’t complain if you kiss me. But only if you want to.” he said, and Ned reddened. He kinda sounded like... Peter.

Spider-Man was very still as Ned rolled his mask down to his nose, before he carefully kissed him on the lips.

Spider-Man tentatively put a hand on Ned’s cheek, kissing him a little deeper before they pulled apart. Ned had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn’t dreaming as Spider-Man let go of his web and did a backflip landing. He stood up with a grin, and Ned would know that grin anywhere.

He pulled his mask all the way off.

_Peter_.

His hair was messed up in all directions as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks hot as he looked at Ned.

“So... I hope you’re not disappointed that I’m uh, I’m Spider-Man.” he said, and Ned gave him a confused glance.

“Peter, I’m literally beyond thrilled. Why the hell would you even-? Wait. Oh my god. You piece of shit! You listened to me talk about my crush on Spider-Man, on _you_ , and you didn’t say anything!” Ned complained, and Peter snickered.

“Come on, Ned. It was really funny, and cute.”

“I’m never forgiving you.” he replied sullenly, and Peter laid his hands on Ned’s shoulders as he stepped closer into his space.

“Not even if I do this?” he asked before he caught Ned by surprise and kissed him again.

“Stop doing that!” Ned burst out.

“I dunno what you’re talking about.”

“Kissing me to distract me! You can’t use stuff I like against me like that.”

“So you do like me!” Peter said triumphantly.

“Don’t talk to me, Peter.”

 

* * *

 

Peter set Ned gently down on his doorstep as he released his web. His other arm was still tightly wrapped around Ned’s waist, Ned’s arms around his neck.

“Would it be cheesy to say you’re my hero?” Ned asked, and Peter grinned at him, risking his mask off.

“Nah. I’d be offended if you _didn’t_ say it.” Peter teased, and Ned rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. Goodnight, bug boy.” he said, before kissing Peter’s cheek. Peter _knew_ his stupid blush was coming back, but he just watched affectionately as Ned walked inside his house, waving one more time at Peter.

Maybe high school wasn’t so bad after all.

 


End file.
